County considering new artificial reef (DOCUMENT)

KARI C. BARLOW / Daily News

Monday

Jun 17, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 17, 2013 at 4:31 PM

Local divers could have a new shallow-water artificial reef to explore by next summer.

The Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Program has proposed constructing the Shirley J. Brown Memorial Reef in the Gulf of Mexico off Okaloosa Island. County commissioners are expected to vote on the reef proposal today at their meeting in Fort Walton Beach.

“The diving community has really been wanting this for a long time and we finally found the perfect vessel,” said Scott Henson, manager of the county’s reef program.

Read a presentation about the reef project. >>

Under the plan, the county would sink the Tenneco, a 125-foot, concrete-hulled recreational boat, to construct the reef in 60 feet of water.

The boat, which was built in St. Marks in 1942, would be donated by Ted Brown in honor of his father Shirley J. Brown, who owned and operated Brown Marine, a company involved in numerous maritime operations on the Gulf Coast.

The Tenneco was built by the Tennessee Gas and Transmission Company. Brown Marine acquired it in the 1980s and used it for social gatherings and to entertain clients. The Tenneco, which is moored in Pensacola, has been out of service for the past 20 years.

Henson said the reef would give local and visiting open-water divers an additional place to practice for their certification.

The cost of the project is estimated at $75,000 and would be funded with bed tax money. The funds would cover towing the Tenneco back to Okaloosa County, securing permits, preparation and sinking.

The Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council has recommended the $75,000 expenditure to county commissioners.

“I think it’s a real opportunity for us to develop this tourism product and feature it,” said Dan O’Byrne, director of the county’s tourist development department. “It’s totally an authorized use of the bed tax (revenue).”

O’Byrne said the reef will attract tourists whose interest include diving and other specialized activities.

Henson agreed, noting that the Tenneco would be popular among amateur and recreational divers.

“These shallow-water reefs are what people are looking for,” he said. “People are going to go ape crazy over this one. It’s going to be great.”

If commissioners approve the project, the next step would be towing the Tenneco from Pensacola to Okaloosa County and start applying for permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Permitting could take anywhere from three months to more than a year to complete.

“We can’t just go out and sink it,” Henson said. “It’s got to be cleaned of all floatable materials. ... We’re going to strip it basically down to the concrete shell.”